Men’s tennis unable to sustain doubles momentum, falls to BYU
The Utah State men’s tennis team found itself in an unfamiliar position in its match against BYU Friday in Provo.
Aggies Ryan Bair and Andrew Marsh had outlasted BYU’s Rob Sperry and Jeremy Price, 9-8, in No. 3 doubles to give USU the doubles point, and a 1-0 lead.
Unfortunately for Utah State, it was unable to transfer that momentum into singles play as the Cougars swept all six matches en route to a 6-1 victory.
“Everybody was pumped up [after doubles], maybe a little bit too much,” said USU Head Coach Chris Wright. “I think [the Cougars] came at us and did a good job. Unfortunately, we just weren’t in sync.”
However, he said the Aggies were certainly in sync in doubles as USU captured the doubles point from BYU for the first time in recent memory.
The Aggie tandem of Jason Trask and Brandon Butler (No. 2) helped Utah State get off on the right foot, surging past BYU’s Jeff Olsen and Anton Rudjuk, 8-4, in a match Wright said they led the entire way.
Things looked bleak for the Aggies in No. 3 doubles as Sperry and Price led Bair and Marsh 7-3 and were up two breaks of serve. Bair and Marsh refused to fold though, forcing and winning the tiebreaker.
“That was awesome,” Wright said. “They stuck with it and really
battled.”
Bair and Marsh’s comeback victory would prove to be even more important, because BYU’s No. 1 tandem of Alonso Medina and Jose Lechuga edged past Jordan Butler and Jonah Nelson, 8-6, earlier on.
Wright said Bair and Marsh had no idea USU had split the first two doubles matches, therefore they didn’t have any undue pressure.
“It was sad that we didn’t get all three [matches],” he said. “It definitely wasn’t because of a lack of effort.”
Fortunately for the Cougars, they would respond, despite having their No. 1 and 2 singles players watching from the sidelines. BYU’s Eric Nyman and Carlos Lozano sat out the match because they are in danger of exceeding the NCAA’s 25-match limit.
The 25-match limit rule restricts a player from competing in more than 25 matches during an academic year. Nyman and Lozano decided to sit out Friday’s match as opposed to a Mountain West Conference match later in the season, said Spencer Parkinson, BYU’s sports information director for men’s tennis.
While BYU was able to win all six singles matches, the Aggies certainly had their chances, dropping two of the matches in three sets.
In No. 2 singles, Olsen eked out a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Trask, while Rudjuk outpointed Jordan, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in No. 4.
In other singles action, Lechuga beat Nelson, 6-0, 6-2 in No. 1, with Medina defeating Brandon, 6-1, 6-4 in No. 3. BYU completed the singles sweep as Sperry was victorious over Jacob Jensen, 6-3, 6-0, while Paul Heapy defeated Marsh, 6-1, 6-2.
“We just didn’t play our best tennis,” Wright said. “I don’t know if we got tight or nervous … we just have to want it more.”
Utah State will return to action Wednesday as it hosts in-state foe Weber State at 1:30 p.m. in the Sports Academy and Racquet Club.
The Aggies and Wildcats were originally scheduled to play each other in North Logan on Feb. 19, but decided to re-schedule after playing each other three days earlier at the UNLV Invitational. WSU won that match 4-3, but USU was without the services of Trask, who had a stomach flu.
–jasonwturner@cc.usu.edu